Breakdown of Szkoda ci zrezygnować z tej dobrej pracy?
ten
this (m)
dobry
good
praca
work
ci
to you (sg)
z
from (+ Genitive)
szkoda
pity
zrezygnować
to give up (resign, quit)
Questions & Answers about Szkoda ci zrezygnować z tej dobrej pracy?
Why is it szkoda ci instead of something like "czy jesteś szkoda"?
Szkoda is an impersonal word meaning "it is a pity" or "it is a shame". In Polish, you don't say "I am a pity" to express this feeling. Instead, you use the Dative case to show who experiences the regret. Ci is the short Dative form of ty (you). So, szkoda ci literally translates to "is it a pity to you?".
I usually see szkoda translated as "what a shame". How does it mean "sorry" here?
Szkoda doesn't mean "sorry" as in an apology (that would be przepraszam). It expresses regret about a loss or a waste. When you ask szkoda ci zrezygnować, you are literally asking "do you feel it's a waste or a shame to resign?", which in natural English translates smoothly to "are you sorry (or reluctant) to give up?".
Why does zrezygnować take the preposition z here?
In Polish, you don't just "give up a job" or "resign a job"—you resign from it. The verb zrezygnować (to resign / to give up) almost always pairs with the preposition z when you are specifying what it is you are quitting.
What case is tej dobrej pracy and why?
It is in the Genitive case. The preposition z, when meaning "from" or "out of" (like resigning from a job), always requires the noun phrase following it to take the Genitive case. The basic Nominative form ta dobra praca changes to tej dobrej pracy.
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